Love
by OnceUponASunsetDream
Summary: AU. Clark has never been the best father to his son Connor and Connor's almost reached his breaking point. No superpowers


Hey guys. I recently revisited all my favourite shows from way back when, when I got up at some ungodly hour on Saturdays to watch cartoons on TV. I then went hunting and found a whole stack of awesome fanfics on them and decided to give it a go. I also had trouble with the title so just ignore it until I get a good suggestion or think of something better.

OOOOOOOOOO

Clark arrived home late, as usual. He lay his briefcase on the island bench in his two bedroom apartment and loosened his tie as he filled a glass of water and looked up at the clock. 10:26 PM. Clark sighed and placed his now empty glass in the sink beside a dirty plate, knife, fork and another glass. He looked at them silently for a moment, guilt flooding his system but he shoved it down as he had done so well for the last fifteen years at least. Leaving the kitchen he paused, hearing noise from the living room. Leaning on the doorframe he folded his arms and watched a few minutes of the movie playing on the screen.

Craning his neck, Clark saw a dark head of hair lying on the couch in front of the TV; a large white Labrador sprawled beside Clark's sixteen year old son. "Hey." Clark greeted softly, watching as the boy stiffened but didn't jump. "What are you doing still up? Don't you have school tomorrow?"

There was a grunt of response and Clark sighed, pushing off the doorframe and preparing to go to bed. "Do you love me?" came a small voice from the couch and Clark froze.

"Sorry?" he questioned slowly.

His son sat up, the Labrador, Wolf rearranging himself on the boy's lap with a small huff. Clark watched his son glare at him with well-deserved anger. "You heard me. Do you love me or do you hate me? Dick seems to think that you love me but I can't help but feel that you don't."

Clark was stunned. He knew he wasn't a wonderful father but he never thought he was that bad. "Connor." he whispered. "Of course I love you. What made you think that?" he crossed the room, flipping on a lamp and switching off the TV. He knelt beside the couch, staring his son in the face. "I know I haven't been the best father but-"

"You're a terrible father!" Connor hissed furiously. "You never pay attention to me, you've never spent a whole day, alone, in my presence, when school gets out, I'm shipped off to the farm in _Smallville_." Connor was leaning towards him, an ugly look on his teenaged face as he hissed at his father. "Robin and Dick both say that they've heard Bruce talking to Alfred about me. Do you know how they classify your 'parenting skills'?" he asked harshly, creating violent quotation marks around the words. Clark shook his head wordlessly. "Neglectful. They think you're a neglectful father, the twins agree,_ I_ agree. Lois has helped me with my homework more than you and she's _your_ God damned _girlfriend_!"

"I'm sorry." Clark whispered, unable to meet the furious blue eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"That's not good enough! Do the people at your work even know you have a son? Lois has told me that she didn't even know I existed until she started dating you and I have to wonder, how ashamed are you of me? I know I was a teenage mistake and you never wanted a child at nineteen but you didn't _have_ to raise me. You didn't _have_ to have anything to do with me. You could have set me up for adoption, you could have left me in an orphanage! Hell, you could have_ dumped me on the streets_! But you _didn't_. You took me in and raised me. The least you could have done is at least_ pretend_ to _like_ your only son."

Clark reached for Connor and took the young face, nearly identical to his own in his hands, and wondered if he'd ever done this before, held his child's face in his hands and looked carefully into angry and pained tear filled eyes. "I-I'm not good at feelings, Connor. I don't know how to express my emotions. I tried to work so much when you were little so that I could save money to support us for when you were older. It didn't occur to me that I would be away so long and then when you were older I just didn't stop."

He rubbed his thumbs across Connor's cheeks and closed his eyes briefly. "I was scared. Your mother came to my apartment, seven months after you were born. She told me what had happened, put you in my arms, handed me a bag with all your things and a whole stack of legal papers and then she just...left. No phone calls, no letters, no contact whatsoever. I didn't know how to be a father and I considered adoption but then, I couldn't do it. I was adopted and I couldn't put my own son through the same curiosity and fear as I experiences. What if I did set you up for adoption and then eighteen years down the track you tracked me down and demanded answers I didn't have? But I was nineteen. I had no idea how to look after a baby. Ma and Pa helped me, but I knew that I had to be your primary caregiver and that was such a terrifying notion, I couldn't digest it."

Connor was watching Clark with wide eyes, listening as the story of his early life was revealed. "Why didn't you try harder?" he asked bitterly.

Clark winced. "I told myself that by working more, I was ensuring that you would have a good life, that you would be able to go to a good school, to university, live a normal life. I never realised how much you suffered." he shuffled closer, one hand rising to run through his son's soft hair. "I'm sorry Connor, you have no idea how sorry I am. Do you want me to take you to work tomorrow, after school?" Connor nodded slowly, a small smile reaching his lips. "And this summer, I'll take leave and we'll go somewhere other than the farm, I promise. Ok?"

Connor nodded happily and wrapped his arms around his father, slipping off the couch to sit beside Clark, Wolf huffing irritably and curling up in the space where Connor had been. Clark wrapped his arms around his son in a proper hug, the likes of which they hadn't shared for years. "I'll try to be better, son. I promise. It may take a while to get out of my bad habits, but I'll try. I swear."

"Thanks Dad." Connor murmured, leaning closer into Clark's embrace.

Clark felt a warmth spread through his chest and tightened his grip around his child and thought that maybe their lives would be better now. Now that they had recognised their long hidden and repressed love. The love of a father and his son.

OOOOOOOOOO

What'd you think? I personally don't like the ending. I find it a bit too...bland I s'pose. It'll annoy me for a while I suspect until I have a brainwave and think of something wicked. So keep an eye out for updates!


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